Archives for September 2022

The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command, the National Reconnaissance Office and United Launch Alliance are preparing to launch a Delta IV Heavy rocket this coming weekend from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-6 at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in northern Santa Barbara County, California.

Scheduled to lift off on September 24 at 2:53 p.m., PDT, this will be the final Delta IV Heavy to launch from the West Coast. The Atlas/Delta team in El Segundo, California, will be performing two launches within weeks of each other with less than half the staff used in the past and a more consolidated engineering approach to both Atlas and Delta missions, across both coasts.

“We’re on track to launch another national capability into space. This will be our sixth national security launch this year. We’ve worked alongside ULA to prepare this Delta IV Heavy, and in just a few days, we will see the fruits of our labor.” said Brig. Gen. Stephen Purdy, Program Executive Officer for Assured Access to Space. “These launches place critical capabilities into orbit for our nation and our allies in a time of increasing risks and threats. Every member of our launch team understands what’s at stake and works with both care and efficiency to prepare for what’s going to be a tremendous launch.”

“This team will accomplish an unprecedented feat, and I am very proud of their focused dedication to missions of both the Atlas and Delta launch vehicles,” said Lt. Col. Scott Carstetter, Delta IV Materiel Leader. “In the past, there were two separate teams of fully staffed personnel when close launches occurred.”

SSC is the U.S. Space Force field command responsible for rapidly developing, acquiring, equipping, fielding, and sustaining lethal and resilient space capabilities. SSC mission capability areas include launch acquisition and operations, communications and positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), space sensing, battle management command, control and communications (BMC3), and space domain awareness & combat power. SSC is headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, Calif.

OneWeb and Kymeta will introduce their joint superyacht offering at the Monaco Yacht Show with LEO connectivity and antenna combination specifically designed for these vessels.

OneWeb successfully tested its LEO connectivity with two Kymeta antennas at sea off the coast of Monaco at the end of August. The pilot tests demonstrated high-speed connectivity with speeds up to 200 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload to enable voice calls, streaming and video gaming with continuous and seamless coverage. OneWeb states their global and mid-ocean connectivity removes the need to choose regional options or worry about changing the service depending on the charter routes.

Alongside a ubiquitous connectivity experience at sea, other important considerations for superyacht owners include privacy, security, navigation, real-time maintenance, and regulatory compliance, which all require high speed (greater than 50 Mbps) and low latency (100 milliseconds or lower) connectivity. OneWeb’s LEO connectivity now means that online gaming platforms, accessing the Cloud, streaming movies, and never missing an important game, can all be added to the work and entertainment options on board.

As an enterprise-grade connectivity provider, OneWeb’s LEO connectivity also provides enhanced cybersecurity with end to-end-encryption. OneWeb’s service ensures that a superyacht Captain and Electrical Technical Officer can be confident in a resilient, secure connectivity experience for owners and guests.

Design onboard is crucial, and the antenna needed for this high-speed connectivity doesn’t need to be bulky. Kymeta’s unique high-bandwidth, low power, fully integrated flat panel antenna offers an exciting new choice for yacht owners. The recent pilot test also showed that the Kymeta terminals could be installed onboard within hours, not days, with just two people and no need for cranes or specialist installation equipment.

OneWeb services will be available through OneWeb’s certified yachting partners, who are experts in the LEO connectivity ecosystem. They will support Captains in offering a real home-from-home connectivity experience – reliable, efficient, and resilient no matter where they are at sea. OneWeb will launch its superyacht service with Kymeta’s u8-based LEO terminal, with first deliveries starting in early 2023.

The superyacht tests are part of OneWeb and Kymeta’s joint commitment to develop and bring to market by early 2023 a unique dual u8-based LEO terminal offering that is especially suited for onboard application superyachts because of its easy installation and low profile design.

Carole Plessy, VP Maritime, and Europe at OneWeb, said, “Superyacht owners immediately understand that greater connectivity and technology improves safety, comfort, and luxury onboard. OneWeb offers terrestrial-grade connectivity from Space so that owners and guests can connect anywhere at sea as easily and seamlessly as you would at home. We are excited to talk to yacht owners and Captains about our LEO connectivity for superyachts at Monaco Yacht Show for the first time.”

Neville Meijers, EVP, Chief Strategy, Product, and Marketing Officer at Kymeta, said, “We are hugely excited that the recent tests represent our first superyacht maritime trial. It’s an exciting new step forward for high-speed connectivity. By testing and launching a game-changing LEO connectivity service for superyachts, we are delivering on our promise to give customers, including superyacht owners, unprecedented access to connectivity in areas where existing networks don’t reach.”

OneWeb is proud to be a sponsor of the Monaco Yacht Summit for 2022.

A video presenting a yacht owner installing the u8 antenna is available at this direct link…

The next SpaceX Starlink launch is scheduled for Saturday, September 24th for a Falcon 9 to send 52 Starlink satellites to LEO from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The instantaneous launch window is at 7:32 p.m. ET (23:32 UTC), with a backup opportunity, if necessary, on Sunday, September 25th at 7:10 p.m. ET (23:10 UTC).

The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched SES-22 and two Starlink missions.

Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Watch the live launch webcast starting about 5 minutes before liftoff at this direct link… 

Airbus and Exotrail have signed an agreement for the integration of spaceware – mini thruster (formerly known as ExoMG – mini), Exotrail’s new 300 to 600W class electric propulsion system, as part of Airbus’ Earth Observation (EO) satellite platform portfolio.

The agreement contemplates the purchase and delivery of the 300W thruster version at completion of qualification activities in 2024 following a fast-paced new product development.

spaceware – mini will significantly enlarge Exotrail’s spaceware TM electric propulsion systems portfolio in the commercial and institutional markets for mid-size satellites. Exotrail will ensure the compatibility of its 300W class thruster with Airbus’ platforms, providing then Airbus with a new European source for Hall Effect propulsion thruster.

Airbus has developed its EO platform product line with the overarching objective to offer its customers high performance, high quality and competitiveness. The avionics and platform are based on a standard, but customizable design that covers a large variety of LEO applications and can be tailored to customer requirements.

Airbus will be able to use Exotrail’s 300W class electric propulsion thruster into different configurations to meet its different needs and requirements.

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. will launch a dedicated Electron mission for General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS).

Electron is scheduled to launch the “It Argos Up From Here” mission onboard the GAzelle satellite from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand (photo below), during a launch window that opens on October 5, UTC.

The “It Argos Up From Here” mission will launch the GA-EMS designed and manufactured satellite carrying the A-DCS hosted payload. The A-DCS mission is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Data and Rescue Services Program, which arranged the launch through the Hosted Payload Solutions contract vehicle administered by the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command. The Argos-4 instrument onboard the GA-EMS satellite was provided by France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES).

Argos is an international program that collects data from some 18,000 transmitters operating around the globe, serving a host of applications including tracking of buoys, fishing vessels and wildlife; collection of environmental data such as ocean temperature profiles, river levels and animal heart rates; and observation of ocean parameters such as currents, temperature and color.

“We are looking forward to completing the final milestones toward a launch countdown, as we grow closer to delivering NOAA’s latest environmental data collection and monitoring capabilities on orbit,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “Rocket Lab’s ability to provide us with a dedicated launch solution, and their demonstrated success in deploying small satellites into targeted low Earth orbit destinations complements GA-EMS’ commitment to offering efficient, reliable solutions that meet our customer’s unique mission requirements.”

“The Argos international satellite system has been delivering crucial environmental data from space for more than 40 years, so we’re very proud to support this important legacy and ensure its resilience by providing reliable, dedicated launch services,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck. “We’re delighted to be working with the team at General Atomics to make this important mission possible. The mission ultimately serves to better monitor and protect the environment on Earth, we’ll be doing our part to ensure environmental sustainability in space by once again performing an orbit lowering burn with the Kick Stage after payload deployment to rapidly accelerate the Kick Stage’s de-orbit time, avoiding creating long term space debris.”

GA-EMS designed and manufactured the GAzelle satellite at their Centennial, Colorado, facilities and conducted all integration and testing for the Argos-4 instrument and the RadMon space radiation monitoring payloads. GA-EMS owns the satellite and is managing mission operations and control of the satellite throughout its five-year mission lifecycle.

“Our complete ground-to-orbit solutions and flexible, optimized platforms provide a more efficient way for customers to deliver critical technologies to space,” said Gregg Burgess, vice president of GA-EMS Space Systems. “We are extremely proud of our team and our partners as we get closer to delivering the Argos-4 instrument on orbit to begin collecting and distributing real-time data for the research, study, and protection of our planet’s environment.”

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket is launching the NROL-91 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), scheduled for September 24, 2022, at 2:53 p.m. PDT (5:53 p.m. EDT; 2153 UTC). Liftoff will occur from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. 

The NRO is the Department of Defense organization responsible for developing, acquiring, launching and operating America’s reconnaissance satellites, as well as operating associated data processing facilities in support of national security. 

The NRO uses a variety of satellites to meet mission needs — from smallsats to more traditional, larger satellites. This allows the NRO to pursue a hybrid architecture designed to provide global coverage against a wide range of intelligence requirements, carry out research and development efforts, and assist emergency and disaster relief efforts in the U.S. and around the world. The NRO never loses focus on who they are working to protect: our nation and its citizens. 

Payload Fairing (PLF): The payload fairing is a composite bisector (two-piece shell), 5-meter diameter fairing. The PLF encapsulates the spacecraft to protect it from the launch environment on ascent. The vehicle’s height, with the 63-ft (19.2-m) long PLF, is approximately 233 ft (71.0 m).

The Delta Cryogenic Second Stage (DCSS): This is a cryogenic liquid, hydrogen/liquid oxygen-fueled vehicle, powered by a single RL10C-2-1 engine that produces 24,750 lbs (110.1 kilo-Newtons) of thrust. The DCSS propellant tanks are structurally rigid and constructed of formed aluminum plate, spun-formed aluminum domes and aluminum ring forgings. The tanks are insulated with a spray-on insulation and helium-purged insulation blankets. An equipment shelf attached to the aft dome of the DCSS liquid oxygen tank provides the structural mountings for vehicle electronics.

Booster: The three Delta IV Heavy common booster core (CBC) tanks are structurally rigid and constructed of isogrid aluminum barrels, spun-formed aluminum domes and machined aluminum tank skirts. Delta IV booster propulsion is provided by the throttleable RS-68A engine system which burns cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, with each of the three booster engines delivering 705,250 lbs (312.3 kilo-Newtons) of thrust at sea level. The booster’s cryogenic tanks are insulated with a combination of spray-on and bond-on insulation and helium-purged insulation blankets. The booster is controlled by the DCSS avionics system, which provides guidance, flight control.

NRO Mission
For 60 years, the NRO has developed, acquired, launched and operated the satellites that are the foundation for America’s advantage and strength in space. Using a diversified and resilient architecture of spacecraft, NRO collects and delivers the best space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance content on the planet.

NRO data supports the National Security Agency, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and other NRO mission partners to produce intelligence products for the President, Congress, national policymakers, warfighters, and civil users. The NRO’s hybrid overhead architecture designed to provide global coverage against a wide range of intelligence requirements, carry out research and development efforts, and assist emergency and disaster-relief efforts in the U.S. and around the world.

The National Reconnaissance Office is scheduled to launch the NROL-91 mission aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Carrying a national security payload designed, built and operated by NRO, NROL-91 supports the overall national security mission to provide intelligence data to the United States’ senior policy makers, the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. NROL-91 is NRO’s fifth launch of 2022, and is part of more than a half-dozen planned launches for the year.

Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6)
NROL-91 will launch from Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The first launch from SLC-6 was on an Athena I rocket in August of 1995. In 2000, United Launch Alliance took over SLC-6 and re-fitted it to serve as the west coast home for the Delta IV launch vehicle family with modifications to the Assembly Building, Mobile Service Tower, Launch Tower, and other support structures.

The NRO is the best in the world at providing overhead intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to more than a half-million government users —including every member of the Intelligence Community, two dozen domestic agencies, our nation’s military, lawmakers, and decision makers.

NRO has a busy launch year for 2022 with more than a half-dozen dozen payloads scheduled for orbit. NRO is partnering with the UK Ministry of Defence to launch the Prometheus-2 mission on a Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket later this year. Additional information on upcoming launches will be made available at www.NRO.gov.

Arianespace, provider of launch services for all types of satellites and destinations, and SAB Launch Services (SAB-LS), specialized in Launch Services for small satellites, announced during the International Astronautical Congress, the signature of a multi-year framework agreement. The contract entrusts SAB-LS to co-operate as partner of Arianespace for the provision of end-to-end services for nanosatellites wishing to fly on Arianespace missions. The agreement is specific to the supply of hardware, mission preparation and integration services for CubeSats, and the transportation of payloads from SAB-LS European launch integration facilities, in Brno (Czech Republic), to Europe’s Spaceport, in Kourou (French Guiana). This agreement enables Arianespace to expand its services and capabilities for integrating small payloads on rideshare and piggyback missions.

“This partnership with SAB-LS will provide us with increased flexibility to better address the needs of the small sat community worldwide”, explained Marino Fragnito, Head of Vega Business Unit at Arianespace. “Following the success of the emblematic mission VV16, the Proof of Concept of our Small Spacecraft Mission Services (SSMS), we demonstrated the effectiveness of our piggyback solutions with small payloads integrated on VV19 and VV20. With Vega C, qualified with its maiden flight on July 13, we have an increasing number of opportunities in our manifest. This availability, coupled with our cooperation with SAB-LS, will allow Arianespace to answer the booming demand for small sat services.”

“At SAB we are really excited with this agreement, which recognizes all the efforts done since 2018 to push the Vega services among the small satellites community”, said Marco Mariani, CEO of SAB Launch Services, during the signature ceremony. “SAB-LS has been created following the SSMS development carried out by our sister company SAB Aerospace. We started as the SSMS institutional CubeSat integrator and we have been strongly supporting the launch services from Europe. Thanks to SSMS services for small satellites, we are now witnessing an increasing appreciation from the market for European launching solutions. I think that our commitment to Vega and the close cooperation with Arianespace’s team has been recognized and has allowed us to reach this strategic agreement. This positions SAB as the main partner of Arianespace for the provision of services to nanosatellites. We consider Arianespace a long term strategic partner, and we aim at expanding our collaboration to new services.”

This agreement follows the success of the Vega C maiden flight, launched on Wednesday, July 13, at 10:13 am local time in Kourou. The next Vega C mission, VV22, is planned for late November 2022.

In total, there are already seven Vega C that have been filled and will serve both institutional and commercial missions. This has been possible in particular by leveraging the capability of the SSMS Dispenser, the hardware developed to optimize multiple Small Satellite missions on Vega and Vega C. The SSMS Dispenser is a modular structure, which can be flexibly configured in order to be adapted to the specific satellite aggregate.

The SSMS coupled with the Vega upper-stage provides maximum flexibility for rideshare missions, allowing multiple satellite releases in different orbits with different altitudes and/or some inclination changes.

Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR) (“Spire” or “the Company”), a global provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, announced today the continuation of its participation in NASA’s Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program with a new contract extension. The award is in support of NASA’s SigNals of Opportunity: P-band Investigation, or SNOOPI mission. The Purdue University and NASA team, led by Professor James Garrison, will launch a satellite into low Earth orbit (LEO) to detect and analyze P-band radio signals for the purpose of measuring root-zone soil moisture on Earth.

As part of the mission, Spire performed a custom collection of ultra high frequency (UHF) and P-band data for the SNOOPI team. The lower frequency of P-band signals allows the radio emissions to penetrate farther into the soil than L-band signals, enabling the team to obtain measurements deeper below the surface when compared to modern L-band remote-sensing techniques employed by NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS).

“The SNOOPI mission is the first demonstration of measuring root-zone soil moisture from space using signals of opportunity that are important for detecting early drought warnings as well as crop-yield forecasts,” said Kamal Arafeh, Senior Vice President of Global Sales, Spire. “We are honored to work with NASA and other government agencies worldwide to show how scientific innovations using space-based data can help humanity measure, adapt to, and mitigate the impacts of climate change.”

“Spire’s UHF collection, which we believe to be the first ever collection of reflected P-band signals in orbit, enabled the SNOOPI team to reduce risk and check our basic working principles prior to our launch,” said Jeffrey Piepmeier, Chief Microwave Instrument Engineer, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “Working with Purdue University, we continue to advance the signals of opportunity technique, which we hope leads to the first satellite remote sensing of root-zone soil moisture, which is the water contained in the top meter of the soil where it is absorbed by plants, a very important variable for applications such as agricultural production forecasting and flood prediction.”

Through the CSDA Program, NASA has integrated Spire data into its research and applications portfolio by using space-based data to investigate water and sea ice levels in the polar regions, estimate the height of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL), and discern daily variability of thermospheric density at satellite flight level. NASA also noted that Spire data has shown positive benefit to its GEOS Atmospheric Data Assimilation System, which uses space-based data to analyze the Earth’s atmosphere by assimilating the data into its Earth modeling and analysis system. As one of the original vendors for the CSDA Program, Spire provides NASA yearly updates to the scope of work under this agreement to ensure alignment of data to the agency’s needs.

SNOOPI is led by Purdue University for NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office and implemented by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center with instrument hardware and technology validation contributions from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Momentus Space, Inc. has completed vibration testing of the firm’s Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle that is scheduled to launch on the SpaceX Transporter-6 mission in December of 2022.

The vibration testing conducted at Experior Laboratories exposed the Vigoride spacecraft to the forces and environmental factors it may experience during launch.

The December flight will mark Momentus’ second demonstration mission. The vehicle will carry payloads for customers Caltech and Qosmosys. In addition to deploying customer payloads, Momentus will aim to comprehensively test Vigoride in space, including its water-based, propellant propulsion system.

Momentus’ plans for additional launches of the Vigoride vehicle remain as stated in the Q1 earnings call on May 10, 2022, with agreements signed with SpaceX for launches on every upcoming Transporter mission through 2023.

“Vibration testing is a significant milestone in the ground test campaigns we do in preparation for our missions,” said Momentus Chief Executive Officer, John Rood. “This particular vehicle that completed vibration testing is the latest block of our Orbital Service Vehicle and features increased payload capacity and improved payload environments, as well as some other upgrades to implement what we learned from our first demonstration mission.”

Additionally, the company provided the fifth Mission Update on their inaugural Vigoride mission that launched on May 25, 2022.

Since the company’s last update on August 3, Momentus has successfully deployed an additional payload from its Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle. SelfieSat, a two-unit cubesat developed by Norwegian student space organization Orbit NTNU, was deployed at the end of August. The satellite will be taking a selfie using an external screen and displaying pictures sent by the public, while a camera mounted on the SelfieSat arm photographs the screen with the Earth in the background. View a video of the SelfieSat team making contact with their payload at this direct link…

Momentus initially deployed two FOSSA satellites from its Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle on May 28 and the deployment of four additional FOSSA satellites occurred in July.

The company also deployed one satellite from California State Polytechnic University at Pomona on May 25 from a third-party deployer that flew on a second port of the launch vehicle.

A total of eight Momentus customer satellites have now been deployed in LEO and two yet-to-be-deployed FOSSA satellites remain on Vigoride. The company will continue efforts to deploy the remaining payloads. Read all updates from Momentus’ first demonstration mission at this direct infolink….

Momentus’ plans for additional launches of the Vigoride vehicle remain as stated in the Q1 earnings call on May 10, 2022, with agreements signed with SpaceX for launches on every upcoming Transporter mission through 2023.

“The Momentus team continues its work to deliver for our customers and learn everything we can from our first demonstration mission,” said Momentus Chief Executive Officer, John Rood. “We’re thrilled that the Orbit NTNU students can conduct their SelfieSat mission and that FOSSA can continue to expand its IoT constellation. We’re applying the important lessons learned from this mission as we look toward our next demonstration flight targeted for December 2022.”

Momentus is a U.S. commercial space company that plans to offer in-space infrastructure services, including in-space transportation, hosted payloads and in-orbit services. Momentus believes it can make new ways of operating in space possible with its planned in-space transfer and service vehicles that will be powered by an innovative water plasma-based propulsion system that is under development.

Open Cosmos has announced OpenConstellation — a global, shared, satellite infrastructure built and managed by Open Cosmos to enable anyone to access satellite data to address challenges around the climate crisis, energy, natural disasters and resources.

The OpenConstellation will allow any country, institution or company to contribute their own satellites and create the world’s biggest, mutualized constellation.

The OpenConstellation is the next stage in Open Cosmos’s mission to create a world empowered by actionable information from space. Launching a satellite to access vital data has in the past been prohibitively expensive, yet the OpenConstellation project will allow national and regional governments, as well as businesses and organisations with more conservative budgets, to participate and access insightful, actionable data from space for the first time while keeping high levels of governance and security.

The OpenConstellation consists of a shared satellite infrastructure managed by Open Cosmos’ ground operations team. It is based on advanced technologies that Open Cosmos has developed in partnership with space agencies and combines the latest satellite telecommunication capabilities with the most advanced earth observation sensors and data processing capabilities. Partner members of the OpenConstellation are able to contribute satellites in return for access to high-quality data frequently delivered over their areas of interest.

A mutualized infrastructure provides the correct balance between the budget organizations or governments can afford and the associated performance they need. It provides a great advantage to its members by multiplying their ability to cover their areas of interest and to revisit in case of emergency. Other benefits include the ability to respond in near real-time to emergencies and natural hazards and the positive impact on national and regional policies thanks to unparalleled access to frequent and varied data sources and applications.

In addition to manufacturing and managing the launch of the smallsat platforms, Open Cosmos will be responsible for satellite housekeeping and the downlinking and processing of payload data. This data will then be available for partner agencies to access and analyse through Open Cosmos’ data sharing platform, DataCosmos, which launched earlier this year. The cloud-based platform offers a powerful interface with different types of imagery, data from complementary sources such as vectors, drones and sensors, results from algorithms and a roster of applications that can make satellite imagery useful and valuable.

Open Cosmos designs, manufactures and operates satellites that provide global, reliable data to solve global challenges. It is one of the few companies in the world capable of delivering end-to-end satellite missions fast and affordably. This is due to its unique combination of compact satellites, proprietary mission operation software and data platform, as well as its mutualised approach for sharing capacity, which will power the OpenConstellation.

At the moment, all satellites in the OpenConstellation are built by Open Cosmos and include its multispectral (RGB, NIR) 12U cubesats; and the cubesat 6U that covers 32 bands with a resolution of 4.95 m. and 20 km. swath. Additional satellites with higher resolution and covering other bands of the spectrum are planned to be added in a second phase.

The first generation of OpenConstellation satellites will start to launch in November later this year and with satellites contributed by leading space organizations in the UK, Spain and Portugal. Future batches of the constellation will be announced, from existing and new members, with the aim to provide a total of 25 satellites with the mix of spatial and spectral resolution the market is requiring.

It is only through the range of satellites being used as part of OpenConstellation, and their respective resolutions and bands, and through the shared nature of the infrastructure that challenges such as monitoring agricultural programs, detecting environmental threats and identifying illegal mining practices can be accurately and adequately addressed. The increased coverage and operational support also mean the use of the satellites is much higher than single dedicated constellations or satellites, making each launch exponentially more useful.

Rafel Jorda Siquier, founder and CEO of Open Cosmos, said, “The main challenges the world faces today are global and satellites naturally provide that global perspective we need to make the right decisions. The key objective of OpenConstellation is to make necessary data and information from space more accessible. A mutualised infrastructure will provide the right balance between the budget organisations or government can afford and the associated performance they need.”

Open Cosmos is a business focused on solving the world’s biggest challenges through the delivery of satellite missions and the data of the world they can gather from space. This includes designing, building, launching and operating small satellites as well as providing data and services through an innovative platform. Since its creation in 2015, it has developed multiple advanced satellites for telecommunications, earth observation, navigation and science. The company is on a high growth path with presence in the UK, Spain, France and soon Portugal. For more information visit www.open-cosmos.com, our Twitter and LinkedIn.